Direct tile feeding machine



April 13, 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE 8 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 24, 1962 INVENTOR'. MALCOLM A.SCHWEIKER ATT vs,

April 13, 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIGIB.

INVENTORZ MALCOLM A. SCHWEIKER AT TYS.

April 13, 1.965 M. A. SCHWEIKER 3,177,568

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 3 FIG,35.

w. Q 342 "f \I r l\\ 27 262 2 272 170 262 F 1?? MM i mvamoa; BY MALCOLM A.SCHWEIKER April 13 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER 3,177,568

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 4 9 FIGIQ. M W

FIG. 20- /4 F K318 56 INVENTOR'.

I 56 MALCOLM A. SCHWEIKER //4 0 BY //0 I m MW ATTYS.

April 13, 1965 M. A SCHWEIKER 3,177,

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 5 I .56 x i 5 INVENTOR'.

MALCOLM A. SCHWEIKER ATT Y5.

April 13, 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER 3,177,568

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 s Sheets-Sheet e April 13 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER 3,177,558

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 3 *T'Sl.

8 Sheets-Sheet 7 INVEN TORI A. SCHWEIKER WWW ATTYS.

A ril 13, 1965 M. A. SCHWEIKER 3,177,568

DIRECT TILE FEEDING MACHINE Filed Sept. 24, 1962 8 Sheets-Sheet 8 F'IGBI.

mvzm'onz MALCOLM A. SCHWEIKER ATTYS United States Patent 3,177,568 nmncr TILE FEEDING MACHINE Malcolm A. Schweitzer, Worcester, Pih, assignor to American Encaustic Tiling Company, Inc, Lansdale, Pa, a corporation of New York Filed Sept. 24, 1962, Ser. No. 225,578 16 (llaims. (Cl. 29-211) The present invention relates broadly to the manufacture of composite sheets of tile wherein a plurality of individual ceramic tiles are positioned and arranged for later application of a paper backing coated with adhesive.

These composite sheets are widely used in laying tile floors and walls, with exposed tile faces applied to previously laid cement on the surface to which applied and subsequently, after hardening of the adhesive or cement, the paper Web or carrying sheet is moistened and removed and thereafter spaces between the individual tiles resulting from the method of assembly are filled in by grouting in a known manner.

The present apparatus is particularly adapted for the positioning of the individual ceramic tiles in pockets on boards of known types formed by utilizing metal having upturned areas or portions to form individual pockets, with the upturned portions of metal constituting spacers for the tiles. After the various pockets, which in a preferred embodiment are twelve in number transversely of the board and twenty-four in number longitudinally of the board are filled, then subsequently a piece of paper is pasted over the top face of the tile to hold the pieces in place when they are removed from the board. Various apparatus and methods have heretofore been utilized in an effort to automate this type of operation to obviate the necessity of individually hand placing each of the tiles in the pockets. The present invention is primarily adapted for simple one-color patterns, adapted to be placed in pattern boards of the aforementioned character and wherein the operation is continuous as regards movement of conveyors carrying spaced boards for the tiles and individual tile feed mechanisms are tied in with the drive means for the conveyor and predetermined positioned tile boards to accurately and positively insert individual tiles in the various pockets on the board.

An object of the present invention is to provide apparatus of this nature which has a high speed of operation and high efficiency in operation and results.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a tile feeding machine which is of simplicity of construction and operation and which facilitates visual inspection of the filled boards for accuracy and quality of tiles inserted therein.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide feed means for randomly disposed individual tiles and orienting means for assembling tiles in aligned transversely spaced longitudinal rows and introducing them into feed means for inserting individual tiles into individual pockets on the travelling boards on the conveyor.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means in tile feeding machines insuring an adequate supply of individual tiles in all of the aforementioned rows at all times, with means to remove excess and/ or superimposed tiles so that a single thickness of tile is fed into the tile positioning station.

A still further object of the invention is to provide in a tile feeding machine means whereby an excess of tiles fed are returned to the conveyor and additionally means are provided to eliminate so called doubles, wherein two individual tiles have become adhered to one another.

A still further object of the present invention is to provide in a tile feeding machine means for removing tile chips or the like which otherwise might tend to jam up or injure the mechanism and/ or operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide means in a tile feed machine to insure the presence of individual tiles in the rows thereof being fed and upon detecting absence of a tile, the machine will be deactivated.

An additional object is to insure the feeding of one tile at a time from a given line of tiles onto a board under normal operating conditions, with additional means to remove inadvertently fed tiles and means to positively seat the tiles in the tile pockets in conjunction with positive drive means for the individual tiles.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means to detect the presence of a tile board and in its absence to stop the tile feed mechanism.

Additional advantages and objects of the present in vention will be more readily apparent from the following detailed discussion of an embodiment thereof when taken together with the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a plan view of the tile feeding and positioning machine of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view of the machine of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a schematic view of drive mechanisms for the machine at a position taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a fragmentary perspective view of a portion of a tile board showing the tile pockets therein;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a single tile as contemplated for use with the present invention;

FIG. 6 is a fragmentary sectional view on line 6-6 of FIG. 2 of a portion of excess tile return mechanisms;

FIG. 7 is a view taken at right angles to FIG. 6 and along line 7-7 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8 is a sectional view taken on line 8-8 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 8a is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 8a-8a of FIG. 8;

FIG. 9 is a fragmentary plan view taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 2 of a portion of the tile feed orienting means;

FIG. 10 is a sectional view taken on line 10-10 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken on line 11-11 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken on line 12-12 of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view taken on line 13-13 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 14 is a sectional view taken on line 14-14 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 15 is a fragmentary sectional view taken on line 15-15 of FIG. 14;

FIG. 16 is a fragmentary plan view taken on line 16- 16 of FIG. 2 approximately at the tile feed onto board station;

FIG. 17 is a sectional view taken on line 17-17 of FIG. 16;

FIG. 18 is an enlarged fragmentary view of a portion of FIG. 17 showing details of a portion of the mechanism at the tile feed station;

FIG. 19 is a sectional view taken on line 19-19 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 20 is a sectional view taken on line 20-20 of FIG. 17;

FIG. 21 is a fragmentary plan view taken on line 21-21 of FIG. 2 at the tile feed station of the machine;

FIG. 22 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23 is a sectional view taken on line 23-23 of FIG. 21;

FIG. 23a is a fragmentary view taken along line 23a-23a of FIG. 23;

FIG. 23b is a fragmentary view taken along line 23b-23b of FIG. 23;

FIGL2 4 is a sectional View taken along line. a

of FIG. 23; f 7

FIG. 25 is a view takenronline 25-25 or FIG. 2s;f FIG. 26 ,isa view taken alongline 26-26 of FIG. 23;

FIG. 27 is a fragmentary sectional view takenon line 27-27 of FIG. 26; V

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary sectional viewtaken on line.

28-49 of FIG. 23';

FIG. 29is a sectional'view taken along line 29 29 i O'FIG.2;1 V V FIG. 30 is a view taken along line30-7-3tl ofFlGi 29;

FIG. 31 is a view taken along 1ine 31'31 of FIG. 29;'

FIG. 32 is a sectional view taken on line32f-32 of FIG. 31; e

FIG."33 is a sectionalgview'taken online 33 33 of ,and/or other: extraneous materials to fall .therethrough ontoa removable chip pan 104 which is suitably mounted in any desired manner, such as by, meansof angles 106 1 or the like.

The tile orienting and aligning section includes an elongated framesuchlas generally designated atlQS. A

longitudinally extending conveyor belt support 110 is carried by the frame and conveyor belt rolls 112 ,are m tatably journalled at opposite ends of the belt support 1 10 on the frame and havemounted thereon a conveyor belt I 114-which extends the lengthof this. section of the ap- Jparatus. The tiles discharged-"from'the tile supply sec- FIG. 32, ofactuating control means with a tile board in I 7 position and the tile feed conditioned for operation;

FIG; 34 is a View similar to FIG. 33 but'for a con- V dition with noboard present and no tile to be fed; and

FIG. 35 is a sectional view taken alongline 3535 of FIG.1. V

Referring now more specifically to the figures of the 'drawings,,which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the tion,will fall or slide down the plate. 98 and onto the upper surface of the-conveyor belt 114 to be carried along thereby.

v, A plurality of vertical longitudinal metal strips 116 are mounted just above the conveyor belt by means of -nut and bolts generally indicated 118, securing the same to angles as at 12tl. Asseen from FIG. 9 these are spaced transversely, of the conveyor belt and serve to 7 channel and guide tiles which are moving along with the invention, the tile feeding machine is generally'designated 40. The overall machine is comprised of a plurality of different sections'of components wherein different phases of the overall operation arecarried out. These include a tile supply section 42; a tile orienting and aligning section 44; a tile return section 46 a double-single tile separa I tor section 48; a tile feed section .50; a tile setting section 52 and a board discharge section 54'. V a

- The individual ceramic tiles 56 are normally square in configuration as ,shown 'inFIG. 5 and preferably have slightly cushioned edges. H be assembled in the board of a nature as fragmentarily shown in FIG. 4. This board 58' includes a frame portion 60 extending around the periphery thereof and atile support base portion 62 with an underlying board-64 for These individual tiles are to conveyor belt reform a plurality of transversely spaced rows. These metal strips 116 whichfserve as tile orienting guides are spaced apart less than the greatest dimension of a tile from one corner to a diagonally opposite corner for 5 the obvious reason of preventing jamming at thispoint;

. the excess'tile and doubles'for separating and return of the gooditiles to the tile feed-section. .These means in- 'clude a rotatably mounted spiral bristle brush 12.2 adapted to be suitablydriven by motor 124. It is to be notedthat the brush 122 is disposed at a substantial angle to the 1 longitudinal axis ofthe conveyor belt sons, when in engagement with'the conveyor mechanism therefor. A

metal sheet 66 covers the surface of base '62 andhasa plurality. of upstanding ears 68 extended out of the matea rial. These ears are so arranged and spacedas to pro vide a plurality of contiguous'tile pockets 70' somewhat larger than the tiles and the ears 68 also form spacersv I so that when individual tiles are placed in the pockets they are spaced from one another and these spaces when l.

the tile is' being assembled on a wall or floor are filled with grouting in the usual manner.

The tile supply section 42'consists of a frame generally designated 72 adjustably mounting side members 74 in an upwardly inclined position from inlet to dischargev ends. a An endless conveyor belt'76 is operably mounted operation, to brush the tile off to the side of the conveyor belt and doubles out of'the. channels formed by the metal strips. This excess of tileand/ or the doubles are brushed oif onto a'plate 126 which is downwardly inclined and discharged onto afreturn conveyor belt 128 which has coacting side guide frames 130 to prevent tile from discharging over the sides thereof. Tiles carried by belt 128which is movably mounted by means of rolls such as at 132 at-each end thereof are'disch'arged into a single- 7 double tile separation unit generally designated 134;

A plurality of transversely spaced wiresincluding upper Wires 136a and' lower wires 13% are mounted in the separator 134 as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 and are downwardlyinclined. from the inlet vend to theoutlet end.

between the side'members 74 by means of rolls 78 and.

80 rotatably journalled in the side members. Means are provided at 82 for adjusting tension on the belt in a'usual manner.

belt for confining'tiles to a restricted transverse area of the belt. The roll 80 has a sprocket 88 mountedon the shaft thereof'about which is entrained a drive chain 90 and which is also entrained over a drive sprocket 92operav tively connected to'motor 94; Speed reduction means can be utilized if desired. Any means can be used 'to place a plurality of tiles 56 onto the conveyor belt '76 in a random fashion and upon energization of motor 94 55' Side members'84'are'mounted above the. mernbers 74 and serve as guard members for the conveyor belt.- Tile guides '86 extend the. lengthqof the. conveyor These Wires} are so arranged as to the spacing therebetween and their respective heights that only single tiles can fall between the wires-jdue to the dimensions of the openings therebetween and all double tiles as indicated at Sea will be carried'down to thedischarge end 138 of the wires where they are discharged into a chute 140 and thence discharged into. a container'142 for ultimate disposal thereof. The single tiles 56 which fall through the wires are carried by-a downwardly inclined chute 144 and thence returned to the conveyor belt76 for recirculating tion of thebrush and the fact that it is desirable that it the conveyor belt will carry these tiles up to the discharge a end 96 where. they will. be dumped onto theflmain tile conveyor belt in theftile orienting and'aligning section 44 as will be described in detail'hereinafter. a

A downwardly inclined perforated plate 98 having side sociation with the discharge end of conveyor belt 76 through the machine.- 1 a a Bracing means 146 are provided for the metal strips 116 v adjacent to the brush 122. Because of the disposiextend into proximity to the upper surface of the conveyor ,belt 114 atan appproximate height equal to the guides 100 has its leadingedge placed in operative asandupon which the tiles carried thereby are dischargedf.

The perforations as at 102 are provided topermit chips thickness of one tile in order to perform its function, the metal strips 116 must be cut out as shown in greater'detail in FIGSJIO, 111 and 12. As will be seen,the'cutouts vary from a relatively small one 148a at the position of section line-111 411 and as' shown in FIG. 10 to a greater cutout portion 1481 at section line 1111 as shown in FIG. 11 and 1480 'takenon'section line 1212 as shown therebetween.

- rality of fingers or lugs 152 extending downwardly into the channels formed between the metal strips 116 and serve additionally to insure only one layer of tiles passing Additional bracing members 154 can be used in appropriate areas to hold the metal strips 116.

' The tiles in the channels are carried forward by the conveyor belt and under normal operating conditions will be in abutting relationship with one. another due to the excess feed principle discussed.

Toward the end of the tile orienting and aligning section 44 (FIG. 16), the channels start converging as at 156 and at the same time, the channels themselves become narrowed so that when the channels are again straight starting approximately at the position 158, they are only slightly Wider than the width of the tiles carried therein. This can be seen from a study of FIGS. 19 and 20 taken on section lines 19-19 and 2020 respectively of FIG. 17. When the tiles are in the area of the channels at 158 they are in proper alignment for insertion into the tile pockets on the board as will appear hereinafter. A plurality of micro switches 160 corresponding to the number of channels are mounted above the channels by means of supporters 162 mounted on rod 164 suitably mounted on the frame. Arms 166 are operatively associated with each of the micro switches and carry on their outer ends rollers 168. The purpose of the micro switches and arms carried thereby and rollers 168 is to indicate the absence of a tile in the channel at that point, at which time the roller would drop from the full line positionshown in FIG. 17 to the dotted line position designated 168a. When this occurs, the board chains will be shut down until any troubles in the mechanism which might have existed can be corrected and/or the supply of tiles replenished at that area at which time the chains will again start up.

In proximity to the forwardmost conveyor belt roll 112 an inclined ramp 170 is mounted onto which the tiles will pass guided by metal strips or wires 116a which extend therealong. Spring fingers 174 are provided at this point to maintain the tiles in engagement with the conveyor belt and the ramp. The uppermost portion of the ramp 170 is provided with openings as at 176 for any chips which might be present to fall therethrough onto a removable chip pan 178. The channels on the inclined ramp are formed by and between metal strips 116a which terminate (FIG. 18) in proximity to the ends of the strips 116 and the strips are maintained in place by means of support bars 184 at their upper ends. The construction of the strips is such that they can be easily inserted into position to mate with and align with the strips 116 and also the entire feed section can be removed from the remainder of the machine.

The. next section of the machine is the tile feed section 50. Reference is here made primarily to FIGS. 21- 23 inclusive for an understanding of this important area of the machine. Base 182 of inclined ramp 170 has a plurality of openings such as at 184, again for the passage therethrough of chips. The tiles 56 are supported on the ramp between the strips 116a forming the channels. Shafts 186 and 188 respectively mounted in hearings in trunnions 120 and 192 rotatably mount a plurality of rollers or wheels 194 having rubber or similar material in a layer 196 on the periphery thereof. As seen from FIG. 23 these lower rollers extend into each channel through openings in the bottoms thereof for engagement with the lower surface of tiles passing therebetween, the upper rolls engaging the upper surface.

Means are provided for driving these rolls as will appear hereinafter and the manner in which these rolls are mounted provides for manual operation of individual ones of the same in order to insure that each of the channels is filled and that an adequate reservoir or supply of tiles is created at the actual feed station for feed onto the board also as will appear hereinafter. The lower rollers 194 carry a neoprene layer 198 to provide for better wear characteristics.

A bracket 2% extends across the machine and mounts a shaft 202 on which are mounted arms 204 by means of collars 206 and positioned by means of spacers 208. Rollers 210 are rotatably mounted on the lower ends of the arms and are engageable with the upper surfaces of the tiles passing through the various channels to maintain pressure on the tile in the channels so that they will not slide freely therethrough.

A bracket 212 suitably mounted above the machine at each side thereof rotatably mounts a plurality of feed rollers 214 having outer rubber layer peripheries 216. One of these feed rollers is aligned with andextends into each of the channels formed by the strips 216a and the periphery of the rollers are in engagement with the up per surfaces of the tiles in the channels. At this point, a plurality of small tile support rollers 218 are freely rotatably mounted centrally of each of the channels and positioned by spacers 2.29. Drive means comprising a motor 282 and gearing 2S4 are provided for these feed rollers 214, as will be described hereinafter. Upon rotation of a feed roller, a single tile will be forcibly ejected from a given channel and thrown forwardly against a spring arm 222 rotatably mounted at 224. The outer end of the arm is counterweighted at 226 and biases the arm into contact with a stationary stop 228. As the tiles are ejected and impinge upon these spring arms, the arm might move slightly but has sufiicient weight to throw the tile back into position on top of a stack of the same as shown at 230. It has been found in operation that this arrangement prevents tiles from inadvertently assuming a position other than flat or horizontal. The tiles come to rest on a stack on a plate 232.

The mechanism for ejecting the tiles onto a board and into the pockets thereon includes a plurality of feeder fingers 234 having the front ends thereof extending over plate 232. The fingers 234 are attached at their rear ends to a plate 238 as shown in FIG. 23a which in turn is pivotably connected at 240 to an arm 242 of an eccentric drive mechanism. This includes a rotatable shaft 244 having an eccentric member 246 splined thereto around which a sleeve 248 is mounted with a slip connection therebetween. A collar or band 250 is secured to the ring 243 and has its arms 252 attached to arm 242. Upon rotation of shaft 244 carrying therewith the eccentrie 246, the ring and collar will be eccentrically moved and thereby the arm 242 and the feeder fingers 234 in a back and forth motion. On the forward stroke this will eject a tile from the bottom of each stack formed at the end of each channel and which stacks are in alignment with pockets of boards into which they will be inserted. At the lateral sides of this feed mechanism guide fingers 254 are supported on rollers 256 and held under guide rollers 25S rotatably journalled on shaft 260. Coaction of these means insures proper movement of the feed 7 fingers as will be readily apparent.

For moving the boards 58 to the tile feed-in station, endless chains 262 are provided on opposite sides of the machine entrained over drive sprockets 264 and idler sprockets 266 at the opposite end. Supports 268 (FIG. 29) are provided for the upper runs of the chains. The chains mount a plurality of dogs 271) (FIG. 23) which are spaced along the runs of the chains and which serve to engage bolts adjustably mounted on depending brackets 272 on the bottoms of the boards. Drive means for the chains include a motor 274, a transmission 276 and a speed reducer 278 as shown in FIG. 2,

at one end.

V alloperativelyconnected by chainsor belts such as generally indicated at 280. l I j 't hat the end-336 always engage with the pin due to Actuation ofthefeeder .fingersif-ZM, as previously set:

motor 282 and a speed reducer284. The shaft 244 which operates the feedfihgers drives thef shafts 186; 188 of the feedrolls 194 th'rough'a. speed control "unit 286,"tl1e shaft 244 driving the v inputlshaft ofv the .controlflu'riit forthis by" means of the eccentric drive of-shaft "244. The means for driving the shaftof the feed out rollslld is schematically shown in FIG; -3' and includes a drive anangular entry thereunder even if the pin is being held by. the abutment 30 8.

Attention is; heredirected to FIG. 23 whaannfad justably mounted ifijnger 338 ispivotally mounted at 340,- and these fingers have as their purpose engagement with 7 the tops of tiles i'n thel pocketsto insure that they'are flat and properly seated It isalso to benoted that there is always a stack-of tiles at the tile' feed position -If one of throughpa sprocket chain and the output'shaft ofthe con trol unit driving bothofthe shafts 186,: 188 of therolls 194 through another sprocket chain. J The rolls194 are mounted on their shafts in such manner, asstated above, a

to permit turning individually by 'hand in a forward direction to feed down 'a line of tiles in any particular these tilesinadvertently is upright then the feed fingers will serve to eject the entire stack againstthe action 'of the spring arm 222.- For furtheraccuracyand to insure that 1 theboardsarein proper'alignment; a plurality of side channel'whichmay'need them, the rol1'214 feeding tiles down Vto'a stack as rapidly as, the-lineais pushed forward} Normal power-turning resumes as soonlas handfeed is discontinued; The feeding sequence is controlled and governed by a timing earn, as also by a board 'senser V which; indicates when a board is in proper position for feeding.

h This portion of the apparatus is shown in greaterde- A bracket 288 rotatably tail in FIGS. 29-32 inclusive. V V mounts a sprocket 299 which isin engagement with the lower run of one ofthe chains 262. A" earn. 292,.is seengaging'rollers342 .(FIG. '1") are "provided which are spring' biased against the side of the boards during operation. I i,

The operation and construction "of the presentinvention .willqbe'readily apparent fro'm'theforegoing description when taken'together'with the drawings. Tiles are fedin random orientationupon the lower end of the supply con- I 'veyorbelt 76, which dumps them off the upper end '(FIG.

curedtogthe-sprocket. This cam292-isadjustably mpunt-a ed by mean'sofjslots 294and thumb screws 296 or the;

like. :A recess29 8 in the cam governs a no-tile' feed condition by coactionwith a roller 300.which rides on the 304 to the'rightas seen in FIG. 31. As shown in FIG. 31 with roller 300 riding .on the surface'of the calm, the

mechanism is in a tile feed condition, providing that a 7 board isproperly, positioned and in place at the tile feed Whenthe cam'rotates and theroller falls into" position.

. surface of the cam and. which'is carried-by an arm 302 adjustably secured .to thelower end of lever SM'piVotably V mounted at 306. Theupper end of lever 304 is'cutaway 1 to form an abutment at 308. A spring 313 biases lever the recess 298" then the upper end of, lever 3%4 will spring to the right and the abutment at 308 will engage with a pin 312 as shown in FIG. 34. j

"Pin 312 is a portion of which is operatively connected with theeccentric shaft 244 and'through it with the feed rolls 194. When the abutment moves the pin 312 from the position shown in FIG. 33 to that of FIG. 34;tl1e clutch is disengaged and the feed rolls and eccentric drive for. the. tile 'feedfingers' are stopped. The drive for the clutch isthrough shaft 7 316 supported by bearings 318 (FIG. 1) and an inter connecting worm gear. mechanism broadly designated.

320; The, shaft 316 is operatively .driven through shaft a-one revolution clutch I ing conveyor 76.1

322 Whicl1is drivenifrom the speed reducer 278. A.

sprocket 324 and chain 32 6 serve to continuously drive a rotating brush 328 which serves the purpose of seating tiles-in the pockets on the board if they havenot been already seated. Rotation of this brush is not affected by.

disengagement of the clutch aswill be apparent.

As mentionedhereinbefore, the tile feed mechanism is not operable until a board is in proper position to be filled. Thisis controlled: by means vofa roller 330carried'on arm 332 which in turn is connected to lever 334 having anJend 336 thereof enga'geable with pin 312 as shown in 1 16.34, The'roller 33i) is engageable with a side edge of the boards asthe board is pa ssing thereby and Whenso engaged this mechanism is moved sothat, I the end 3361is in the position shown in FIG. '32, andx'out; V of engagement with the pin.

8) down the perforated. slide'o'r chute plate 98.; Broken fragments and other refuse fall through the perforations upon the pan'2104 for removal. The conveyor belt 114 moves the t-iles forward into "the over-width passages or channels between the vertical partition strips 116'to orient them with two'ofv their sides {parallel to the dire'ctionof travel, the passages being too narrow to accommodate tiles in, diagonal disposition.

,The rearwardly sweepingbrush 122 removes tiles down to a. single layer in the passages and forces excess tiles,

1 chips and trash which may be swept off to the sloping side plate 126,"(FIG.13)' andireturn conveyor belt, 128. The

maining are sweptoif. a r g The returned tiles (FIGS-6 and 7) are sorted to remove allexcept singles and these are fed back upon the elevatr The oriented tiles are pushediinto narrower passages between strips 116a (FIGS.'-16 and 17) to provide the same transverse spacing as the pockets of the boards into which they are to beinserted. As may be seen in FIG. 2, emptyboardsare inserted at about this point upon the top run of 'the conveyor chains 262 and move forward at a steady continuous ratev of travel therewith. If there is a good supply of tiles and proper operation there will be a continuous line of .tiles in each and every passage, the

tiles being in abutting edge-to edge'relationship and being .crowded forward by thebelt 114 beneaththem, the belt,

as stated, movingat a rate to urge tiles forwardly. faster than they can be deposited on boards but being free to slip frictionally beneath them, Switches provide an alarm andshut down filled at this point.

As they leave the belt 1 14 (FIG.;2 3) the tiles enter betweentherollersl94gwhich feed them forward at the rate "needed byjtheboards. The rollers; 194 turnat just the rate'tofsupply tiles to the pockets of the boar ds as fast as they: can be taken; V V

7 Further forward; the friction feed-out'rollers 214, which are turning at a much faster rate thanthe lines of tiles are moving, engage the end tile ,of 'all lines and move them out'overtthe supportingrollers 2 18 to drop down on the Z. stacks'230 which havebeen builtup on the support plate This position conditions. I the tile feed'and it will'thereforebeseen' that bothabut mentfitlii and end 336 must be in theopen positionof, 1

FIGS. 32, 33 before thetile feed and tile setting me'cha I nism is operable.

tion; The'ang ular disposition of the lever v334 is to insure 2 The drivefor thje clutch'and; operation i of the clutchis one of the essential features of this invenvertioal'stacleing.

232; "Therollers' 210 of thepressure arms 204 prevent the 'next-to-end tiles from sliding freely forward when the end tilesarefmoved out.""Due to the difference/in line -speedf'and'feedout-speed; this causes tiles'to befed out one-by-onewith enough timeinterval between 'to produce 'If a board is not-present and in proper position to reoperation if the passages are not allceive tiles the feed fingers and line-moving rolls 194 cease operation and, while the rolls 214 continue to turn, they do not feed tiles because the lines are not being pushed forward by the rolls 194 and the pressure arms 204 prevent the tiles from sliding forward by gravity. The device 206 provides for adjusting the speed of the rolls 194 to the rate of feed by the feed fingers. If tiles are needed in any line the roll 194 can be turned by hand to feed the line forward as needed. Cam 292 can be adjusted to match the feed with the board presence in feeding position.

The fingers 234 feed out tiles at exactly the right time and position to project them forward and deposit them in the pockets of the advancing boards. It has already been explained how the presence of a board at filling position controls the operation of the mechanism which actuates the feed fingers and feed rolls 194; also how the board must be in proper lateral position for the pockets to line up with the tiles fed out by the fingers. If the rear edges of tiles are slightly out of alignment this will not interfere with their proper deposit in the board pockets since they will all be entrained and moved forward together in proper position by the front ends of the feed fingers.

After the various boards have been sequentially filled, they can be removed by any desired means at the board discharge section and such means, not constituting a part of the present invention, have not been shown. Subsequently, the so removed boards, following inspection for completeness of filling and quality of tile, are then subjected to the application of adhesive coated paper {and after drying are removed for packaging and dissemination to the field.

Manifestly, minor changes in details of construction can be effected without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as defined in and limited solely by the appended claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for depositing tiles in individual positions of patterns having a plurality of longitudinal and transverse rows each including a plurality of tile-receiving positions, comprising in combination, means for moving a tile receiving pattern longitudinally in continuous travel to present said transverse rows of tile-receiving positions successively in a position to receive tiles, means for holding ready tiles in laterally spaced positions corresponding to the positions in a transverse row on said pattern, and power operated feed-out mechanism adjacent the continuously moving pattern which is timed with the movement of said pattern for moving said ready tiles forward positively out upon said pattern in a direction parallel to and in coordination with the passage of said pattern for depositing said ready tiles in the positions of a transverse row of said forwardly moving pattern.

2. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises, means for depositing tiles from said lines of tiles in stacks on said means for holding the tiles ready for deposit, said means for depositing tiles in said pattern positions comprising fingers which move out the lowermost tile of all stacks together.

3. Apparatus as set forth in claim 1, which further comprises, means for orienting randomly arranged tiles and power actuated mechanism for feeding them forward in parallel lines to said means for holding tiles ready for deposit upon said patterns.

4. Apparatus as set forth in claim 3, in which said means for feeding lines of tiles forward operates upon them frictionally at a rate to urge lines of tiles along faster than the rate at which tiles are deposited on said pattern.

5. Apparatus as set forth in claim 4, which further comprises, power actuated mechanism for removing tiles one-by-one from the forward end of each line of tiles and depositing them in vertical stacks on said means for holding tiles ready for deposit, said tile removing mechanism 10 moving an end tile of a line of tiles forward at a faster rate than the line of tiles is being urged forward.

6. Apparatus as set forth in claim 5, which further comprises, power actuated means disposed between said friction feeding means and said tile removing mechanism which is timed with the movement of the pattern to regulate the speed of travel of the lines of tiles to the speed of movement of the pattern to supply a tile for each transverse row of the pattern.

7. Apparatus for feeding tiles, as for the deposit of tiles in the pockets of travelling patterns, comprising in combination, means for feeding out tiles for deposit at a predetermined rate matched with the pattern travel rate, means for urging forward a line of tiles, power actuated means for successively moving out the forward tile of the line to said feed means at a faster rate than the line is moving, and means for holding the next-toforward tile in the line against free forward movement when the forward tile is moved out.

8. Apparatus for feeding tiles into individual pockets of pattern boards, comprising in combination, means for moving pattern boards with tile receiving pockets along a path, means for depositing tiles in the pockets of the pattern boards, and means for removing from the loaded pattern boards any tiles which may be present except the desired single layer of tiles, said tile removing means also acting to properly seat tiles in the pockets of the boards.

9. Apparatus for feeding tiles as set forth in claim 8, in which said tile removing means comprises a diagonal rotary brush which sweeps above the single layer of tiles in the pockets.

10. Apparatus for feeding tiles into individual pockets of pattern boards, comprising in combination, a conveyor which moves pattern boards along a path to have tiles deposited into the pockets, tile holding means above the path of travel having tiles arranged to match the alignment of the pockets when the boards are in proper transverse alignment, and means responsive to the transverse alignment of the boards to assure operation when the boards are in proper alignment to receive tiles in the pockets and to stop operation when the boards are not in proper alignment.

11. Apparatus for feeding tiles into individual pockets of pattern :boards, comprising in combination, a conveyor carrying a plurality of longitudinally spaced pattern boards in a path past a tile feeding position, means at said tile feeding position for feeding tiles into the pockets of said boards, and means responsive to the presence or absence of pattern 'boards in feeding position for controlling the starting and stopping of said feeding means to cause tiles to be fed only when a board is present with pockets in proper longitudinal position to receive tiles.

12. r apparatus as set forth in claim 11, which further includes means responsive to the lateral position of pattern boards at the feeding position for halting the feeding of tiles when the pockets are not lined up laterally with the tiles to be fed thereunto.

13. Apparatus for feeding tiles, as for deposit of tiles in the pockets of travelling pattern boards, comprising in combination, means for moving a plurality of lines of tiles to be fed, means for guiding said tiles in adjacent separate lines, and means arranged to engage the tops of tiles in the lines for controlling the operation of said tile moving means in response to the presence or absence of tiles in any line.

14. Apparatus for feeding tiles, as for deposit of tiles in the pockets .of travelling pattern boards, comprising in combination, means for moving forward a plurality of adjacent parallel lines of tiles to be fed, spacer guide plates for guiding the lines of tiles, means disposed above said lines of tiles constructed and arranged to remove all excess tiles except a single layer on said moving means to one side of the moving means, :and means for ret firlningl the tiles so removed for re-processing.

single-thickness tiles. I a a or V 16. Apparatus as set forth in claim 15',-in which said sepaIating'meanS comprises adjacent laterallyispaced slop,-

ing wires at dilferent elevations arranged in the path of falling tiles. a a 1' References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS WHITEMORE A. WILTZ, Primary Examiner.

THOMAS H. EAGER, Examiner. 

1. APPARATUS FOR DEPOSITING TILES IN INDIVIDUAL POSITIONS OF PATTERNS HAVING A PLURALITY OF LONGITUDINAL AND RANSVERSE ROWS EACH INCLUDING A PLURALITY OF TILE-RECEIVING POSITIONS, COMPRISING IN COMBINATION, MEANS FOR MOVING A TILE RECEIVING PATTERN LONGITUDINALLY IN CONTINUOUS TRAVEL TO PRESENT SAID TRANSVERSE ROWS OF TILE-RECEIVING POSITIONS SUCCESSIVELY IN A POSITION TO RECEIVE TILES, MEANS FOR HOLDING READY TILES IN LATERALLY SPACED POSITIONS CORRESPONDING TO THE POSITIONS IN A TRANSVERSE ROW ON SAID PATTERN AND 